Apple has just relased iOS 5.0.1 (9A402) to developers. The new update features battery life fixes, multitasking gestures on the original iPad, improves Voice recognition for Australian users, and features other bug and security fixes. The update is about 811MB. Developers can download it from the Developer Center.

iOS 5.0.1 beta also introduces a new way for developers to specify files that should remain on device, even in low storage situations.

UPDATE: Apple released new iOS versions and has stopped signing all other firmwares, including iOS 6.1.2 and iOS 5.1.1. This means you can NOT restore to 6.1.2/5.1.1/4.3.3 and others any more (both original and custom), unless you have saved your SHSH keys for it.

If you have decided to perform an untethered jailbreak and unlock, you need to get the following information:

What type of device do you have (iPhone 3G/3GS/4, iPod Touch 3G/4G, iPad 1/2, Apple TV)?

Do you need unlock (if your iPhone locked to one carrier and you want to use it with another)?
The answer is NO, if the device is not iPhone, if it was purchased as factory unlocked and can be used with any cellular carrier (f.e. in Canada, France, etc).
If the answer is YES, you need to find out your modem version (Setting-General-About-Modem).

What firmware version do you have? Take a look at Setting-General-About-Version. For example it could be iOS 4.3.3.

What operating system do you use on your desktop (Windows, Mac OS)?

How to perform jailbreak, when you do NOT need an unlock

For iPhone 3G the latest is iOS 4.2.1. You can perform jailbreak with any utility. For iOS 4.2.1 you can also use them or GreenPois0n (Windows, Mac OS).

If you have saved SHSH keys for iOS 4.3.3 you can use PwnageTool (Mac OS) or Sn0wBreeze (Windows).

iOS 4.3.4/4.3.5

For iOS 4.3.4/4.3.5 only tethered jailbreak is possible with redsn0w. Tethered means that each time you restart your device you will have to connect it to a computer and run redsn0w. The untethered iOS 4.3.5 jailbreak is possible only for iPhone 3GS with old bootrom. You can detect your bootrom version using this tutorial.

iOS 5

To jailbreak and unlock iOS 5 use latest version of redsn0w 0.9.9 or sn0wbreeze 2.8. You can jailbreak tethered or semi-tethered.

The untethered iOS 5 jailbreak is possible only for iPhone 3GS with old bootrom. You can detect your bootrom version using this tutorial.

iOS 5.0.1

For iPhone 4/3GS, iPad 1, iPod Touch 3G/4G an untethered jailbreak is available for iOS 5.0.1. For untethered jailbreak use the latest redsn0w 0.9.10 or Corona - package from Cydia to untether currently installed tethered jailbreak.

Tutorial how to untether installed tethered jailbreak is available here.

For iPhone 4S and iPad 2 use Absenthe.

For tethered iOS 5.0.1 jailbreak you an use redsn0w 0.9.9 and sn0wbreeze 2.8.

iOS 5.1

For now only tethered jailbreak is available for iPhone 4/3GS, iPad 1 and iPod Touch 3G/4G for iOS 5.1.

The Steve Jobs biography as it was promised have been released today and is available now in all regions. You may download the book on Apple's iBooks or purchase via Amazon.com. The book is an authorized biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Steve Jobs, himself, reached out to Isaacson to suggest the author write a biography on Jobs. Due to the unprecedented level of candor Jobs extended to Isaacson, the book has already made plenty of waves ahead of its public release, which was moved up to Oct. 24 after Jobs passed away on October 5th. Isaacson had asked Jobs prior to his passing why he had agreed to participate:

In order to mask my emotion, I asked the one question that was still puzzling me: Why had he been so eager, during close to 50 interviews and conversations over the course of two years, to open up so much for a book when he was usually so private? “I wanted my kids to know me,” he said. “I wasn’t always there for them, and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did.”

The iPhone Dev-Team released jailbreak utility RedSn0w 0.9.9b6 for both Windows and Mac users. The new version offers full iOS 5 jailbreak support for Windows and fixes Location Services issue for iPhone 3GS devices running the 06.15 baseband. This is still a tethered jailbreak for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, iPod Touch 3G and iPod Touch 4G:

We've released version 0.9.9b6 of redsn0w, with both a functional fix and cosmetic fix for iOS5 jailbreakers. For iPhone3GS owners with the 06.15 baseband, this redsn0w eliminates the network crash you saw when using Location Services in iOS5 (in fact, you don't even need to disable Location Services anymore during the initial setup). The cosmetic fix is to the visual countdown you see when going into DFU mode.

It's okay to re-run this redsn0w over an existing device jailbroken at iOS5. Just choose "Jailbreak" again and de-select Cydia (in other words, all the checkboxes will be unchecked). If you are lucky enough to have an old-bootrom iPhone3GS, please pre-select the IPSW first (redsn0w can't yet auto-detect the FW version of your old-bootrom 3GS if it's already been jailbroken).

Just as redsnow 0.9.9b5 the new version supports creating custom firmwares with preserving baseband (modem) version for unlock. Unfortunately right now custom firmware functionality works only with Mac version.

Last month it was reported that a new trojan known as Flashback.A has appeared and masqueraded as a Flash Player installer. Though Apple has continuously updated its XProtect.plist to detect this malware, security firm F-Secure has informed (via ZDNet) that a modified version of the trojan horse that disables the auto-updating function of Apple’s anti-malware tools has surfaced.

If for some reason you don't want to use redsn0w 0.9.9 to jailbreak your iOS 5, here is a good alternative utility - Sn0wBreeze 2.8b8. It can perform a tethered jailbreak for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 1, iPod Touch 3G and iPod Touch 4G.

As usual it will preserve your baseband (modem) version for unlock with ultrasn0w 1.2.4 or Gevey Sim.

Apple has released new iOS app for mailing post cards right from your iPhone. The Cards app, according to Apple:

The new Cards app from Apple lets you create and mail beautifully crafted cards personalized with your own text and photos — right from your iPhone or iPod touch. Take a quick snapshot and with a few taps and swipes, an elegant letterpress card is on its way to any address in the world. Each card is just $2.99 when sent within the U.S. and $4.99 when sent to or from anywhere else. And that includes postage.